Baby at the waters

This is such a belated post that I would have forgotten about it had I not looked through my old photos.

We brought baby Sammy to Constance a month ago when the weather took a turn for the better. Living in Germany for almost 6 years, I have come to realize how important it is to adapt my daily routine according to the weather - when the sun comes out, get OUT of the house!

So we took advantage of a lovely warm Saturday to make a spontaneous trip to Constance. It's a small town with a lake (Boden See) so large that it borders on three countries - Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The town is picturesque cos its backdrop is flanked by the majestic Alps.

Thing about Constance is that although it is only a 1.5-hour drive from Stuttgart, hubby was stuck looking for a parking space for 45 minutes! The little town is simply not equipped with enough parking space for the onslaught of visitors during sunny weather. 

Last time I was in Constance was when I was still preggy. Can't believe that more than a year has past and our little bub is out of my belly now! Oh man, I even took a pregnancy video here.

It's always so fun to bring our little sunshine out with us. He's such a trooper and he basks in the outdoors! Each time I push the stroller out of the corridor, he can't stop grinning, laughing out loud and kicking his feet! And I'm so not exaggerating here. I'm gonna have to take a video of it one day to show you what I mean.

His different smiley expressions. Love how he still smiles through his eyes with the pacifier in his mouth

With his blue summer cap

On the mini motor boat that we rented for one hour. Oh boy, it was mega slow. I think I could swim faster than it! 

Our happy little family 

 Love father and son shots

  The flock of people in the sun

 The Austrian side

Can you see why we enjoy going to Constance for a day trip? Awesome.

Constance, a city near the Boden See (Lake Constance)

We went to Constance on Saturday cos I just wanted to get out of Stuttgart. Thought that being close to the lake would help to alleviate my hayfever allergies. Well I still ended up blowing my nose and sneezing half the time but it was still a very lovely day nevertheless.

Just sun, water, great company and a perfect day out.

Yup! I'm 19 weeks preggy today! 1 more week to the half-way mark. At times when I'm not feeling well, it really helps to remind myself that it's cos I'm preggy and there's a little being growing inside me. I'm unable to take any oral medication because of this little one and by God's grace, I will get through this.

 Seeing red. You can see my burgeoning belly in this red dress which I recently bought. A regular dress from C&A that only cost me 15€.

I tried pressing down my dress so you can see my rounder belly. Too bad that the denim jacket somewhat blocked it

My hubby doing the obligatory pose

 That's a restaurant in the middle of an island!

That's the Alps in the background

 Don't the trees look so awesome?

Having a lovely dinner before we headed home

 Shared a typical German soup with pancake slices in it

 I opted for some fresh grilled fish since we were right beside the lake

Hubby, the meat-lover went for the typical Cordon Bleu

Have I mentioned that this is why I enjoy blogging? We look so happy and everything looks so beautiful in these pictures! And these are the memories I want to keep. Eventually when (not if) the hayfever wears off, when the pregnancy discomfort is over and baby is born, I will want to remember the positive memories and just forget about the not-so-pleasant ones!

My very, VERY white Christmas!

How was your Christmas?

Ours was really cool. We had my Jap friend and her family over on Christmas eve and that was beyond awesome (coming later).

And of course we got great presents! Its really the thought that counts. That someone has bothered to think of something for you and even made the effort to wrap it up properly.

It was even more superb to see the smiles on their faces too when they opened up their presents.

I can't believe that the long-awaited day has come and gone! But I'm really looking forward to the New Year too! A New Year that brings new hope, new dreams, new direction and new inspiration from God!

We've been having so much snow and temperatures are hovering at sub-zero levels so the snow looks like its here to stay! We don't have a garage with our new apartment, so hubby has had to keep removing the snow from his car **hard work**!

The coolest part about this Christmas? We managed to have a white Christmas! Woo hoo! I've been in Germany for 4 years and this is my 5th Christmas. Guess what? I think its one of the rare times we had a white Christmas! (So sorry Bel. We know how you always prayed for a white Christmas when you were here to visit)

Its really pretty. Like a winter wonderland. Everything's covered in a layer of white. So pure. So innocent. So beautiful.

I'll just leave you with some of the photos I took for you to savour in the beauty of God's creation!

 Winter playground

Old, German fachwerk house covered in snow

 Fancy a walk in the park?

 Endless snow fields!

 Hubby and his mom

 More snow!

 Love the lone tree in the middle

 Don't you think the trees seem to be asymmetrical?

 

Me and my favourite German sister! We were sooo wrapped up! 

  Care to journey with me into the unknown?

 Sometimes our fear holds us more than the reality itself

 Snow-covered modern house.....This is the neighbourhood of my in-laws' place.

SIL's favourite house in the neighbourhood

Right: Gorgeous leaves-shaped snow
Left: Towering needle trees. So pretty!

Caught in the act! I was just trying to spread some cheer!

Oktoberfest in Stuttgart

The October Festival in Munich is world-famous.

What is less famous is the other October Festival in Stuttgart. We have basically the same stuff as in Munich but on a much smaller scale. And honestly, the October Festival in Munich probably earns the big bucks from all those tourists who flock down to the city and stay in their hotels at grossly-inflated prices.

A. wanted to pop by Munich for one day but upon finding out that the hotels are probably either fully-booked or ridiculously expensive, she opted for the Stuttgart version.

My opinion? The October Festival is one huge German carnival. One can try the many amusement rides, people watch or simply enjoy the party atmosphere where people have fun and let their hair down. I took one incredibly scary ride but it turned out beyond fun in the end!!!

However, if you're intending to go to the one in Munich, its not worth the visit if you're not much of a beer drinker. If you are, be my guest. I suppose its worth a visit to check out what the hype is all about, but the sky-high prices is simply something worth contending about. This year, more than in previous years, we saw many people decked out in the traditional Bavarian costumes of Dirndl and leather pants. They don't come cheap but some Dirndls really look great!

The famous beer "tents" that can house hundreds of guests

At night the entire fair ground is transformed into a festival of lights 

 Look at the massive crowds? 

More roller coasters 

Another beer tent. One would have to make a reservation in these tents months in advance. One litre of beer costs about 9€ and half a roasted chicken (typical food at the October Festival) costs another 9€. 

Looks a lot like Disneyland eh? Love the display of stuffed toys 

 

More prizes to be won

 

The fair ground during the day

 The other side of Oktoberfest that you don't see. Massive traffic jams everywhere! We took the subway there but were still not spared the "joy" of fighting for a space in the trains on the way home. Ok, so its not that bad, but when we were there until 11pm over the weekend, there was a general sense of aggressiveness in the atmosphere as fuses were short and tempers flared due to the alcohol intake of the party revellers.

Heidelberg

I love Heidelberg.

Its only an hour's drive from Stuttgart but there's such a unique flair to this small town. It's like Europea / Germany compact in a small area. There's a castle on the hill. A river flowing through the town. A bridge from where you can see the castle. And of course a long shopping stretch where you can window shop / buy something if you please.

From the top of the hill, you get a bird's eye view of the entire town. This was where we spent one New Year's Eve. Being spell-bound by all the numerous fireworks that were set off at midnight. It was like watching a fairy tale come to life.

I was so impressed at the sight that I really thought my hubby would propose to me at the castle on top of the hill! Atlast, he "surprised" me by flying down to Singapore for a 4-day whirlwind trip to ask first my parents and then me for my hand in marriage. It was romantic too I suppose in that I never thought he would spent all that money on a plane ticket to propose. But it was mega unromantic in that I was in my jeans and T-shirt when he proposed over lunch (not even dinner) in some Café at Holland Village. Nothing like the Cinderella castle Heidelberg proposal that I was so sure I would have.

I joke by telling my friends that I got "shocked" into marriage.

View from the top of the hill

View of the castle from the bridge

Some beautiful houses that adorned the landscape

 My sweetie and I in our new clothes. Hubby got some clothes from Mexx and I'm so happy that he has another colour besides blue in his wardrobe! Purple is such an "in" colour these days. I got myself a floral long-sleeved blouse and denim skirt from Pimkie at half-price!

On top of the hill. On the right, you see part of the castle that was destroyed in the war.

It was quite a tiring 10-min brisk walk up the hill. But the good thing is that after lunch, you burn up some calories while walking. We usually have a routine. Reach Heidelberg in time for lunch, go for a walk up the hill, enjoy the scenery, walk some more, go down the hill, have some Starbucks coffee and cheesecake, before heading to the stores to window shop.